20 May, 2010USW and AFL-CIO denounce President Felipe Calderon's repression of workers' rights during his visit to Washington, D.C. and call on the U.S. Government to raise the issue with the Mexican President.
USA/MEXICO: Unions and supporters protested Mexican President Felipe Calderon's visit to Washington, D.C. this week and condemned his government's repression of democratic labour unions in Mexico.
More than 125 members of the United Steelworkers (USW) from Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Maryland and Arizona held banners, placards and megaphone chants on the public sidewalk of the Mexican Embassy in Washington, D.C., on May 19, joined by another 45 staff from the AFL-CIO headquarters and supporters.
The USW and the AFL-CIO again denounced the Mexican government's four-year long campaign to destroy the independent mineworkers' union known as Los Mineros (National Union of Mine & Metal Workers of the Mexican Republic-SNTMMSRM).
Los Mineros President Napoleon Gómez Urrutia was forcefully removed him from office, union assets have been seized, and striking workers at the Cananea mine owned by mining giant Grupo México have been subjected to a protracted campaign of repression, which has left two dead and many others injured at the hands of the Mexican armed forces.
Members of Los Mineros have been on strike since July 2007 at the Cananea mine over health and safety and other contract violations. On February 11, a federal court gave Grupo México permission to fire the striking workers and terminate the labour agreement. The government has threatened to use armed force to gain control of the mine in Cananea.
Gomez spoke by cell phone from exile in Vancouver to the demonstrators through a loud speaker. He told the crowd, "We cannot let the government defeat the rights of the Los Mineros to a labor contract."
USW President Leo Gerard said in a statement, "We call on the Mexican government to withdraw its threat to use military force to dislodge the strikers and to negotiate with the Los Mineros to peacefully resolve this conflict."
In a May 17 letter, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka urged the U.S. congressional leadership to raise the issue of workers' rights with Calderon during his visit. "It is absolutely critical to the economic and social advancement of the (North American) region that Mexican workers have the opportunity to work in good jobs with higher wages so that they can provide for their families and contribute to real and sustainable development in Mexico," writes Trumka.